1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns the method and apparatus for replicating and measuring a contour. More particularly, the present invention concerns the method and apparatus for replicating and measuring a contour wherein the apparatus substantially comprises a mechanical pin array mounted on a frame and having calibration pins, an imaging system that records the moment of contact between the pin array and the contour and a data processor for storing and manipulating the recorded information.
2. Description of the Related Art
One conventional type of device used for replicating a three-dimensional contour surface is a reusable die for the manufacture of molded seat cushions that comprises a plurality of rods slideably mounted on a platform wherein the platform is brought into contact with the surface contour and the rods are then locked into position by a locking device and a wall of the foam mold for the seat cushion is formed over the negative profile of the surface contour formed by the rods. This type of conventional surface contour replication device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,590 issued to Brubaker et al. The drawbacks to this type of surface contour replication device is that the rods must be manually locked in place with the locking device so that the foam cushion can be manufactured. The locking device makes the device complicated. Also, the position of the rods may not be accurate enough to create a surface contour that will not irritate the body part that the cushion contacts.
Another type of surface contour replication device is used to create a permanent seat cushion for a prescription wheelchair and comprises a plurality of actuators positioned on the seat and back portions of the wheelchair each having a rod attached to a piston and each attached to a force and position sensitive transducer. In operation, the patient is seated on the wheelchair and a force and distance distribution profile of the patient's contour is created. This data is then transferred to a fabrication machine to create the seat cushion for the wheelchair. An example of this type of surface contour replication device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,235 issued to Reger et al. A disadvantage to this type of surface contour replication device is that each actuator of the device has a transducer, which is very costly and results in a complicated design.
Nowhere in the cited related art is there disclosed a method and apparatus for replicating and measuring a contour wherein the apparatus replicates and measures the contour with extreme accuracy and has a simple design resulting in low cost. Therefore, there is a definite need for this the surface replicating and measuring device of the present invention which substantially comprises a mechanical pin array mounted on a frame having calibration pins, an imaging system that records the moment of contact between the pin array and the contour and a data processor for storing and manipulating the recorded information.